[elsewhen]

google could have opted to create a standard that matches the amp standard, but not host the pages, and not put a "X" bar at the top, and not create new urls. they could have put the lightning icon on the serps next to all pages that are fully compliant with the standard.

the difference in speed between google-hosted amp and what i suggest above would be minimal.

the reason google didnt do it this way is because amp is not about speed. speed is just the thing they pitch to you to get you to look past all the negative aspects of the system.

[cramforce]

Google could have, indeed. We were aiming at instant loading, though, and for instant loading we needed to do pre-rendering, and the only known way to do that does not allow for changing the origin (has to stay https://www.google.com).

We are working on a few ways how to both make access to the base URL easier and how to eventually even get the right URL in place.